head to head · open source
chromium vs Helium
chromium has 24,824 GitHub stars, 9,251 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Helium has 20,799 stars, 587 forks, 490 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. chromium leads on adoption by 19% (24,824 vs 20,799 stars). chromium is written in various languages under BSD-3-Clause; Helium is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. chromium has attracted 37% as many forks as stars, Helium 3%. chromium was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser, chromium), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| chromium | Helium | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 21K |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | — | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 587 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick chromium if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Helium if
- You want the Helium feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and Helium fits your workflow better
About chromium
The official GitHub mirror of the Chromium source — read only snapshot of the codebase behind the Chromium open source browser project, aimed at developers and packagers who need to read, build, or audit browser source rather than end users looking for a browser download.
read the full chromium overview →
About Helium
Helium is an open source desktop web browser built around the Chromium project. It lives in the Chromium browser ecosystem and is published as a C++ project under the GPL 3.0 license, with imported code retaining its original license. The project describes itself as private, fast, and honest, and as a privacy first browser with ad blocking and no bloat.
read the full Helium overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is chromium or Helium more popular?
chromium has 24,824 GitHub stars and Helium has 20,799. chromium has the larger community by that measure.
Are chromium and Helium free?
Both are open source. chromium is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Helium under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chromium and Helium?
chromium is written in various languages and Helium in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, chromium or Helium?
Choose chromium if you want the larger community (24,824 stars) or its BSD-3-Clause licence terms. Choose Helium if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.